Gay Men : The Open Behavioral Expression of Sexual Orientations and Descriptions of Psychological Health

K. Prine

The purpose of this research is to investigate gay men: open behavioral expression of sexual orientations and descriptions of psychological health. More and more gay men are choosing to disclose their sexual orientations to a variety of people through an assortment of "coming out" behaviors. This study focused on two hypotheses that acknowledged this trend: (a) a relationship will exist between the degree gay men express open behaviors disclosing their sexual orientation and their commitment to changing society as an important psychological health characteristic, and (b) a relationship will exist between the degree gay men express open behaviors disclosing their sexual orientation and their report of general happiness or sense of well-being. The findings confirmed that a positive relationship exists between gay men's disclosure of their sexual orientation and a sense of general happiness. The second hypothesis, however, was rejected, which raises questions on study design and theory.